Basic Instinct (1992)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Scene Selection Anim & Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	1992
Running Time	122:59
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (56:31)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Paul Verhoeven
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Michael Douglas Sharon Stone George Dzundza Jeanne Tripplehorn Denis Arndt Leilani Sarelle Bruce A. Young Chelcie Ross Dorothy Malone Wayne Knight Daniel von Bargen Stephen Tobolowsky Benjamin Mouton
Case	?
RPI	$24.95	Music	Jerry Goldsmith

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	Danish Norwegian Finnish Swedish	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    After an incredibly long wait, one of the all-time best (and most controversial) erotic thrillers, Basic Instinct, has finally arrived (albeit as a bare-bones DVD) in R4. Yes, it's formula-written, Hitchcockian soft-core porn that is completely excessive and grotesquely violent. Yes, it's completely voyeuristic, sensational, and peppered with gratuitous nudity and sex-scenes; And yes, it exploits the bodies of some of the hottest women ever to appear on the big-screen, but that's what made it one of the most disturbingly enjoyable, talked-about, and memorable films of the 1990s. It also was one of the top-grossing movies of 1992, raking in over $US120 million in the US alone. Quite simply, Basic Instinct is a movie phenomenon that cannot be ignored, or easily explained away.

   "A brutal murder, a brilliant killer, a cop who can't resist the danger."

    Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) is a burnt-out San Francisco cop living on the edge. In some ways, this is the character that Douglas' Streets of San Francisco Cop could have evolved into. Curran is part of a team of detectives investigating the gruesome ice-pick murder of a sleazy club owner. The investigation leads Curran to the victim's seductive girlfriend, Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone). It turns out that Tramell writes thriller novels whose plots seem to mirror recent events. Indeed, her latest book describes a murder committed in a very similar way. From there, a web of characters and suspects emerge in true Hitchcockian style. While there are plot twists and turns, anyone familiar with the scriptwriter, Joe Eszterhas' work, (Jagged Edge, Basic Instinct, Sliver), would know his well-worn formula: First you think they're guilty, then you have doubts, and then at the end, the 'twist'.

    One last important point is that this movie is extremely well made: The production values and art direction are terrific. The lighting, camera work (Jan de Bont), and editing are superb, and the direction by Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop, Total Recall) is spot on, unlike his over-blown Showgirls or Starship Troopers. The acting by all the leads is great, and of course after appearing in over 25 films, this was to be the break-through role for 34-year-old Sharon Stone, making her a movie star and a household name.

Video

    Overall, the transfer is very good.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced.

    The image is quite sharp and well defined throughout. The shadow detail is also great, for example consider the car interior at 30:03. The colour is good, but at times some of the skin tones looked a little too brown (but perhaps this was the make-up).

    There are no problem with MPEG artefacts. Film-to-video artefacts appear as some slight aliasing, such as the slight shimmer on the stack of CDs at 20:51. Tiny film artefacts appear throughout. Most are very small, but a few are noticeable. At times there appears to be some slight edge enhancement.

    Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish subtitles are present. This is an RSDL disc, with the layer change placed at 56:31, which is in between scenes.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is only one audio option on this DVD: English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s).

    The dialogue quality and audio sync are excellent.

    The musical score is credited to the very talented Jerry Goldsmith (Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Waltons, The Omen, Alien, First Blood, Rambo, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Mummy), and it contributes enormously to the Hitchcockian tension, emotion, and drama of the film.

    While being a little subtle, there is a very effective and enveloping surround sound mix here. The rears feature the great score, and plenty of ambience when appropriate, such as the scene in the rain at 29:23, or in the rowdy bar at 77:33. This is not an LFE-heavy soundtrack, so the subwoofer never really drew my attention.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Very surprisingly for a movie of this impact and standing, there are absolutely no extras

Menu

    Animated with Dolby Digital stereo surround audio.

    Basic Instinct was released on DVD in Region 1 as a bare-bones, non-16x9 enhanced standard edition (in the wrong aspect ratio) in 1997, and later, as a Special Edition (R-Rated and Unrated) in 2001.

    Compared with the R1 unrated Special Edition, the Region 4 DVD misses out on:

• An ice-pick pen (yes the R1 packaging includes a pen that resembles the ice-pick featured in the movie)
• A few seconds of extra sex and violence (included in the R1's unrated Special Edition)
• Screen-specific audio commentary by director Paul Verhoeven, and director of photography Jan DeBont
• Screen-specific audio commentary by feminist critic and author Camille Paglia
• A new 24-minute featurette on the film, Blonde Poison, featuring interviews with cast and crew
• A featurette, Cleaning Up Basic Instinct, comparing the theatrical and television versions of the film
• Storyboard-to-screen comparisons for three scenes
• Photo gallery
• Cast and crew filmographies
• Production notes
• Theatrical and re-release trailers
• Easter egg: hidden screen tests

The Region 1 unrated Special Edition DVD misses out on:

• Nothing

    I would favour the R1 unrated Special Edition. However, the Doctor informs me that "The best version is the R2. It dedicates 1 disc to the movie and the quality is dramatically better than the R1. I had both and compared them side by side. For the hardcore the German 3 disc version is the same as the UK R2 but also includes a 3 disc (CD) audio soundtrack."

   Accused of 'gay-bashing' for its negative image of lesbianism, some women's groups also called the film misogynistic. While it does have its faults, and yes there are a few plot holes, on the whole Basic Instinct is a must-see, very enjoyable piece of B-Grade sensationalism that one can't take too seriously.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is good.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall